Why should small businesses be using cloud-based apps?

In our digitised world, you’d be forgiven for feeling a little light-headed at our ability to do more in less time, whether in the office or on the move.

But cloud technology and many cloud-based apps are helping business owners to maximise productivity while retaining complete control of all facets of their organisation.

More than just a means to save space on your hard-drive, “cloud-based apps integrate, so they talk to each other online. You can access them anywhere and they really improve efficiencies. They save you time, and many are free so they save you money,” says Christopher Sharp, senior partner manager at Exact UK.

The best apps for businesses

Mailchimp is an email app that offers more than the ability to send letters quickly. Unlike Gmail and Outlook, Mailchimp lets you message many customers in one go and provides analytics on the back of emails, affording “insight into which messages are resonating with your customers,” says Sharp. You can find out who’s opening your mail, who’s clicking through to your site and whether products have been bought as a result.

A webshop connector app could help businesses that sell online. A webshop might host thousands of transactions on a daily basis; rather than typing orders into accounts software, a webshop connector app can link orders together seamlessly, saving time, energy and significantly reducing errors.

Permitting free online international calls, Skype is “great for setting up supply chains in other countries and building partnerships,” Sharp says. Thanks to Skype translate which transfers language in real time, meetings can now be conducted in foreign languages, breaking down some of the biggest and longest-standing barriers to enterprise.

Other applications help you with your accounting, letting you keep track of money in and out, invoices, VAT obligations, and taxes. Sharp says: “I’d recommend going for cloud-based accounting software, it’s the way the market’s moving. It allows you to access your data from anywhere off any system. It’s automatically backed up and very secure.”

As we move closer to the paperless society, we are still laboured with lots of receipts and other documents. Scan apps are available to help digitise this data so that it can be safely stored.

Cloud-based technology is fast becoming integral to how we do business today, so if you’re eager to grow and scale your company then start looking up.